John R. Lott, Jr., Will Schools Be Refused to Adopt This Innovative Product Because They Fear AR-15s?

Mass public shootings are a time-sensitive matter. Civilians Handguns are a common way for police to stop mass murders. However, sometimes you may need a larger round than the standard handgun can hold. It often simply isn’t practical to carry around a rifle. School staff may not be able to quickly find the right gun and run to a locker.

Andrew Pollack lost his 18-year old daughter Meadow to the 2018 Parkland school massacre that resulted in 17 deaths. He is now fighting for school districts to have the tools they need. Byrna, a company that makes innovative self-defense tools, has donated eight backpacks containing collapsible AR-15s to Pollack’s “Meadows Movement” nonprofit. These guns are capable of firing.223 caliber rifle cartridges and are much more powerful than traditional handguns.

On January 4th, Pollack will give the backpacks to the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office for use by school resource officers (SROs) and Will Hartley, superintendent of Bradford County Schools.

“The folding rifle is easy to carry throughout the day for a school resource officer inside the bulletproof backpack,” Pollack said. “The seconds to get minutes lost retrieving a rifle from a locker vs. pulling the bulletproof backpack into a vest and having the rifle on hand equates to the number of lives that could have been saved.”

His comments were echoed by the school superintendent. “I wish more people could have it,” Hartley notes. “Because if someone comes on your campus and they have a long gun, we need to be able to meet their force with the same kind of force.” 

Bradford County Schools is intelligent enough to have multiple layers. Even when school resource officers find the right spot at the right time, it is a difficult job. It’s possible for uniformed security guards to hold neon signs stating, “Shoot me first.” Attackers know that once they kill the sheriff’s deputy, they have free rein to go after everybody else.

To prevent that, the Bradford County schools are part of Florida’s Guardian Program. As in nineteen other statesTeachers and staff are trained to use guns for protection. Their guns are hidden. Permit holders make guards’ very difficult job easier. A school resource officer can be attacked by an attacker who reveals his identity and makes him a target for someone with a concealed weapon. As with concealed handgun permit holders generally, the whole point is that the attacker doesn’t know who else he needs to worry about. 

These schools should have a sign saying so, instead of a sign. “Gun Free School Zone,” They are replaced by signs warning of their presence “Please be aware that certain staff members at Bradford County Schools can be legally armed and may use whatever force is necessary to protect our students.”

But, unfortunately, there are plenty of schools around the country that haven’t learned the lessons that Bradford County has. These backpacks are equipped with ARs and bullet-resistant vests. They will provide protection for school resource officers and more firepower in case of an attack. You can put the bullet-resistant vest on their front in a matter of seconds.

These guns can technically be called AR-pistols or AR-15s. However, the difference is entirely arbitrary. This is due to nonsensical government regulations regarding how to define rifles. An AR-15 pistol has an AR-15 tube instead of a stock. However, the guns are functionally identical.

Pollack so believes in Byrna’s products that he is now their chief public safety officer.

It will be a shame if school districts’ phobias about AR-15s prevent them from taking advantage of this innovative product.

Lott is the president Crime Prevention Research Center and the author most recently of “Gun Control Myths